How long does it take to paint a car?

YTNUKLR · YTNUKLR's Garage

Has no dings, just one large dent in LR fender. Not looking to do a bare-metal repaint, don't think I have to. I've got about $800 saved for this. Do you think it will be a nice-looking job w/ the dent fixed and over the original Silver paint? How long should I expect it to take?

CarreraS2 · 12-23-2002, 11:15 AM

I assume you mean how long would it take if you paid someone to do it?

If that's the case, and you plan on paying $800 max for the bodywork and paint, you should expect that it will be done in 24-48 hours!

kristian85 · kristian85's Garage

Boy, I'd wait and spend thrice that for a quality job--nothing good can be done for $800 for an entire car.

john walker's workshop · 12-23-2002, 11:38 AM

more like $5-$6K for a complete these days. a quality job that is. then there's the old rubber trim, etc, that just doesn't look too good now, against the new paint job.

efhughes3 · efhughes3's Garage

I'm currently getting mine done with very little body work needed. I think the guy underestimated the trim, but he's honoring his quote. 3 weeks so far, and it should be done by the end of the week. By the way, I furnished all of the new rubber seals and trim for this project.

Grady · 12-23-2002, 12:20 PM

brings up an interesting topic....not much help to you but i hear the range of 1K to 5-6K and i just dont know what is reasonable vs. extreme!

Good luck.

john walker's workshop · 12-23-2002, 01:58 PM

extreme is $10K. there's a lot of time and materials involved. materials alone will be $1000. earl does it for $495, but it ruins the car.

Bill Douglas · 12-23-2002, 01:58 PM

The painting is the easy part. There is a lot of work removing windows and bumpers as a minimum, even if you want to do a cheap job. If you do the job too cheaply you will actually lower the value of the car, plus it will frustrate you seeing places where the rubber should have been removed and not just covered with masking tape.

Zeke · 12-23-2002, 02:20 PM

There's an old trick regarding the mask line at the rubber. Put high quality tape on the rubber just a little long over the edge. Just a little. Then lift the rubber and work a cotton or nylon cord under it to lift the rubber off the surface. After painting when you pull the cord and the tape, you can't tell that the rubber has not been out. Works every time, even on a color change.

On the $800: If you remove the bumpers, lights, wipers, washers, door handles, badging, etc., you should be able to find someone who is competent who will de-wax, scuff, seal and shoot it for 8 bills. I don't know about $1000 for materials, I just shot my 914 with DuPont urethane (twice what acrylic enamel costs) for about $300 in paint, hardener, reducer and sealer. My pickup cost less than $200 in DuPont Centari.

However, re-assembly, color sand and polish and fianl detailing are not going to be covered for $800. Like the other reply says, the painting is the easy part. I love to paint. It's two hours work after countless hours getting ready.

CarreraS2 · 12-23-2002, 02:44 PM

Do they even make Centari anymore? I used it in the past, but it seems to have been superceded by DuPont Chroma. At least Chroma is what my paint shop sells now.

And, it's not cheap. I just got back from there, with a pint of Chroma One, which was $60. If I'm doing my math right, that equals $480 a gallon. The other paints, like Glasurit and Sikkens, are even more.

The other stuff adds up, too. The hardner and other additives, etc. etc. etc.

These days, if you were to do it yourself, and use a good quality paint, I think $800 in supplies isn't too far off. You'd probably come in at less than that, but not by much.

Milu · 12-23-2002, 03:48 PM

If your budget is $800. Why not just spend it on having the dent taken care off instead of a mediocre paint job?

Zeke · 12-23-2002, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SoCal911SC
Do they even make Centari anymore? I used it in the past, but it seems to have been superceded by DuPont Chroma. At least Chroma is what my paint shop sells now.

And, it's not cheap. I just got back from there, with a pint of Chroma One, which was $60. If I'm doing my math right, that equals $480 a gallon. The other paints, like Glasurit and Sikkens, are even more.

The other stuff adds up, too. The hardner and other additives, etc. etc. etc.

These days, if you were to do it yourself, and use a good quality paint, I think $800 in supplies isn't too far off. You'd probably come in at less than that, but not by much.

Centari (the original) is available out side of CA (Las Vegas) Retail is $128 a gal. It has always been true that 3 qts. costs more than a gal. If you price by pts., yes, the extended no. is astronomical.

Anyway, I get my Centari at a local store that brings it up from Mexico. Last week I paid $108 for a gal of white Centari and $9 for the hardner. Shoot me a PM if you need to get some.

bfrenz · 12-23-2002, 04:28 PM

I just got my 914 back from paint. $1500. Car was already in primer state and little, very little body work had to be done. Also had everything removed glass doors etc. materials were $400.
It took about a week. It still needs to go back for a final polish.
$800 will not go very far if nothing is already done to the car.